Remove Security Tool and SecurityTool (Uninstall Guide)
Posted by Grinler on September 25, 2009 @ 11:44 AM · Views: 669,374
What this programs does:
Security Tool, otherwise known as SecurityTool, is a rogue
anti-spyware program from the same family as System
Security. This program is promoted through the use of Trojans and web pop-ups.
When this rogue is promoted via a Trojan it will be installed onto your computer
without your permission or knowledge. When promoted via web pop-ups, you will
be shown a pop-up when browsing the web that states your computer is infected.
If you click on the pop-up you will be brought to a page that shows an advertisement
that pretends to be a fake online anti-malware scanner. At the end of the advertisement,
it will state that there are infections and then prompt you to download and
install Security Tool onto your computer.
Security Tool screen shot
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 8 images you can view.
When the program is installed it will be configured to start automatically
when you login to your computer. Once started, it will perform a scan, and when
finished, state that there are numerous infections on your computer. If you
attempt to remove these infections, though, it will not allow it until you first
purchase the program. The reality is that the scan results are a scam and the
infected files it states are on your computer are actually legitimate Windows
files. With this said, please do not manually delete any of the files it states
are infections as it may affect the proper operation of your computer.
When the program is running you will be shown numerous alerts on your desktop
and from your Windows taskbar. These alerts will state that your computer is
under attack, that the Security Tool firewall has blocked a malware program,
or that active malware infections have been detected. The text of some of the
alerts you may see are:
Security Tool Warning
Spyware.IEMonster activity detected.
This is spyware that attempts to steal passwords from Internet Explorer, Mozilla
Firefox, Outlook and other programs.
Click here to remove it immediately with SecurityTool.
and
Security Tool Warning
Some critical system files of your computer
were modified by malicious program. It may cause system instability and data
loss.
Click here to block unauthorised modification by removing threats (Recommended)
Just like the scan results, these security notices are not real either and
are only being shown to scare you into thinking you are infected. The biggest
problem this program poses is that it will not allow you to run any program
other than ones required by your operating system. When you attempt to start
a program when Security Tool is running it will shut down the program and state
that it is infected. In reality there is nothing wrong with these programs and
instead Security Tool is holding your ability to run programs ransom until you
purchase it. Thankfully, we have a way of bypassing these restrictions so that
you can fix your computer without paying the ransom.
If you are infected with Security Tool then please use the guide below to remove
it from your computer for free. If you have already purchased the program, then
we recommend that you contact your credit card company and dispute the charges
as this program is a scam.
Threat Classification:
Advanced information:
View Security Tool files.
View Security Tool Registry Information.
Tools Needed for this fix:
Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:
Please note that the files and folders for Security Tool and SecurityTool have random names.
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [4946550101] %UserProfile%\Application Data\4946550101\4946550101.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Install] %UserProfile%\Application Data\4946550101\4946550101.bat
Guide Updates:
09/25/09 - Initial guide creation.
10/14/09 - Updated guide to allow you to remove the program even though it does not allow you to run applications.
11/03/09 - Updated for new technique asit is bundled with vundo.
01/13/10 - Updated to contain instructions on replacing the Windows HOSTS file.
Automated Removal Instructions for Security Tool using Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware:
- Print out these instructions as we may need to close every window that is
open later in the fix.
- Before we can do anything we must first end the processes that belong to
Security Tool
so that it does not interfere with the cleaning procedure. To do this, download
the following file to your desktop.
rkill.com
Download Link
- Once it is downloaded, double-click on the rkill.com in
order to automatically attempt to stop any processes associated with
Security Tool
and other Rogue programs. Please be patient while the program looks for various
malware programs and ends them. When it has finished, the black window will
automatically close and you can continue with the next step. If you get a
message that rkill is an infection, do not be concerned. This message is just
a fake warning given by
Security Tool
when it terminates programs that may potentially remove it. If you run into
these infections warnings that close Rkill, a trick is to leave the warning
on the screen and then run Rkill again. By not closing the warning, this typically
will allow you to bypass the malware trying to protect itself so that rkill
can terminate
Security Tool
. So, please try running Rkill until malware is no longer running. You will
then be able to proceed with the rest of the guide.
Do not reboot your computer after running rkill as the malware programs will
start again.
- Now you should download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, or MBAM, from the following
location and save it to your desktop:
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
Download Link
- Once downloaded, close all programs and Windows on your computer, including
this one.
- Double-click on the icon on your desktop named mbam-setup.exe.
This will start the installation of MBAM onto your computer.
- When the installation begins, keep following the prompts in order to continue
with the installation process. Do not make any changes to default settings
and when the program has finished installing and is at the last screen, make
sure you uncheck both of the Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
and Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware check
boxes. Then click on the Finish button. If Malwarebytes'
prompts you to reboot, please do not do so.
If you receive a code 2 error while installing Malwarebytes's, please press
the OK button to close these errors as we will resolve them
in future steps. The code 2 error will look similar to the image below.
- As this infection deletes a core executable of Malwarebytes' we will need
to download a new copy of it and put it in the C:\program files\Malwarebytes'
Anti-Malware\ folder. To download the file please click on the following
link:
Malwarebytes'
EXE Download
When your browser prompts you where to save it to, please save it to the C:\program
files\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\ folder. When downloading the file,
it will have a random filename. Please leave the filename the way it is as
it is important that it is not changed. You may want to write down the name
of the file as you will need to know the name in the next step.
- Once the file has been downloaded, open the C:\program files\Malwarebytes'
Anti-Malware\ folder and double-click on the file you downloaded
in step 8. MBAM will now start and you will be at the main program screen
as shown below.
- Before you can perform a scan, you must first update the program. To do
this click on the Update tab, and that at the new screen
click on the Check for Updates button. Malwarebytes' will
now check for new updates and download and install them as necessary. When
the update is completed, you will be prompted with a message stating either
that you already have the latest updates or that they have been updated. Either
way, you should now click on the OK button to continue.
- Now click on the Scanner tab and make sure the the Perform
full scan option is selected. Then click on the Scan
button to start scanning your computer for
Security Tool
related files.
- MBAM will now start scanning your computer for malware. This process can
take quite a while, so we suggest you go and do something else and periodically
check on the status of the scan. When MBAM is scanning it will look like the
image below.
- When the scan is finished a message box will appear as shown in the image
below.
You should click on the OK button to close the message box and continue with
the
SecurityTool
removal process.
- You will now be back at the main Scanner screen. At this point you should
click on the Show Results button.
- A screen displaying all the malware that the program found will be shown
as seen in the image below. Please note that the infections found may be different
than what is shown in the image.
You should now click on the Remove Selected button to remove
all the listed malware. MBAM will now delete all of the files and registry
keys and add them to the programs quarantine. When removing the files, MBAM
may require a reboot in order to remove some of them. If it displays a message
stating that it needs to reboot, please allow it to do so. Once your computer
has rebooted, and you are logged in, please continue with the rest of the
steps.
- When MBAM has finished removing the malware, it will open the scan log and
display it in Notepad. Review the log as desired, and then close the Notepad
window.
- You can now exit the MBAM program.
- This malware also adds entries to your HOSTS file, which may make it impossible
to access certain sites like Google until we replace this file. Please note
that if you or your company has added custom entries to your HOSTS file then
you will need to add them again after following the next step. To fix your
HOSTS file please delete the C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts
file. Then download the HOSTS file from the following link and save it to
the C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\ folder.
HOSTS file download
link
- Once the HOSTS file has been replaced, close all open browser windows and
restart them. You should now be able to access the web like normal.
- Due to the fact that this infection deletes certain MalwareBytes' files,
and we had to work around this, if you wish to continue using MalwareBytes'
Anti-Malware, which we suggest you do, then you should uninstall and then
install it again so that the files are created properly.
Your computer should now be free of the SecurityTool program. If your current anti-virus solution let this infection through, you may want to consider purchasing the PRO version of Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware to protect against these types of threats in the future.
If you are still having problems with your computer after completing these instructions, then please follow the steps outlined in the topic linked below:
Preparation Guide For Use Before Posting A Hijackthis Log
Associated Security Tool Files:
Please note that the files and folders for Security Tool and SecurityTool have random names.
%UserProfile%\Application Data\4946550101
%UserProfile%\Application Data\4946550101\4946550101.bat
%UserProfile%\Application Data\4946550101\4946550101.cfg
%UserProfile%\Application Data\4946550101\4946550101.exe
%UserProfile%\Desktop\Security Tool.lnk
%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Programs\Security Tool.lnk
Associated Security Tool Windows Registry Information:
Please note that the files and folders for Security Tool and SecurityTool have random names.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Security Tool
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "4946550101"
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